A breath of fresh air, from the lockdowns

[Emerson40]

There have been quite a few news stories about how the lockdowns in different parts of the world have made significant impacts on air quality.

Major cities in North America, Europe, and Asia experienced unprecedented decreases in nitrogen dioxide levels and particulate matter pollution.

Scientists can now collect data and experiment, and not just use models and projections.

Facebook, Instagram and other social media feeds are full of photos of where folks discovered they could see snow-capped mountain ranges for the first time, in a long time, previously obscured by smog.

Although temporary, it does highlight the human impact on air quality, and provides a glimpse of how we can change things for the better as emission standards improve, we change our habits, and alternatives to the combustion engine become more prevalent.

It will be interesting to see if there will be a push towards keeping the air cleaner as things open back up again.
Beijing is a fine example. The air was thick as soup and toxic before the 2008 Olympics. They tightened up pollution controls and cleaned things up for the games, and it is much better today.


Some positive news during a difficult situation.

 

[Conager]

*nods*

There is a direct correlation between burning fossil fuels and air quality.

There is also a direct correlation between burning of fossil fuels and staving off abject poverty and starvation. The best single indicator of wealth creation is power consumption.

Air quality will be fantastic if we ever get hit with an EMP!

Don't be so tepid. Lots of great news during the lockdowns.

Far less people have been killed in traffic accident on their way to jobs to feed their families.

DUIs are down with no bar to head home from. Usually the alcohol imbibed on the way home from the "essential services" drive-thru liquor stores doesn't impair in the short distance home. Same with the essential pot shops.

Workplace violence incidents are down amongst workers not working, ditto for domestic violence spilling over into the workplace. Domestic violence now occurs at home where the Gods of government intended it be- behind closed doors where the victim is incarcerated with their abuser.

Meat consumption is down as young, healthy workers at little risk of mortality are laid off at shutteted meatpacking plants. Herds slaughtered means less methane!

Once the $1,200 checks being spent on fast food from StubHub run out, Americans BMIs should go back down.

Speaking of BMI, killing off the vulnerable will improve our national stats and make the ponzu scheme that is Social (In)Security slightly less insolvent. Ditto insolvent government pension plans.

People are washing their hands more, even though the CDC now says this particular viruse is not typically spread by contact with infected surface, but washed hands should reduce all manner of other bathroom-bred diseases as well as the deadly seasonal influenza.

 

[Emerson40]

Even before the pandemic, several major cities in the world have improved the quality of their air significantly, and have shown by example, that much can be done to improve the health of their citizens and the air they breathe.

Lisbon, Portugal reduces it’s air pollution levels by 50% in just a few years. They switched their transit and city fleets from brown to green energy, going electric. They also reduced the number of city vehicles, and installed hundreds of electric charging stations, incentive for the public to switch to electric vehicles.

Montreal, Canada reduced vehicle emissions by over 50%, and improved air quality by expanding their tree cover and urban biodiversity beyond their many parks and waterways. The transportation side of things saw improvement by requiring their large taxi fleets switch at least 50% of their cars to electric and electric-hybrid.

Seoul, Korea introduced incentive programs for the citizens that reward them for energy savings, installed monitoring and notification systems that advise citizens air quality levels, forecasts, and alerts, and expanded their car-sharing and public transport systems. They also have incentives for the public to switch from diesel to LPG engines.

Other cities have improved emission standards for power plants and industry, and have been transitioning away from coal and fossil fuels as energy sources.

 

[OldJourno]

Don't know how old you are, Emerson, but I'll let you in on a little secret: It used to be real ugly. I first visited Houston, Dallas and L.A. in the mid-1960s and you couldn't see the skyline. The air was filthy. It was still pretty bad in the 80s, but markedly better.
Now, there is more traffic in all three cities, more internal combustion engine traffic, and it looks way better than it did. I've lived in and around Las Vegas for over 30 years now, and the air here has cleared significantly in that time frame even though the population has gone from about 500,000 to over 2 million.

 

[Emerson40]

Don't know how old you are, Emerson, but I'll let you in on a little secret: It used to be real ugly. I first visited Houston, Dallas and L.A. in the mid-1960s and you couldn't see the skyline. The air was filthy. It was still pretty bad in the 80s, but markedly better.
Now, there is more traffic in all three cities, more internal combustion engine traffic, and it looks way better than it did. I've lived in and around Las Vegas for over 30 years now, and the air here has cleared significantly in that time frame even though the population has gone from about 500,000 to over 2 million.

Yeah, it used to be real bad. I’m not an old feller like you, but my folks have told me, and I have seen photos.

The EPA funded a project called Documerica - Then and Now Challenge, which has thousands of photos showing cities as you describe them, and how they look now, despite increases in population and traffic.

I think the changes started with Congress passing the Clean Air Act in the early 70s. Cars and trucks today are still belching exhaust, but the emissions are cleaner, with way less carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides.

Fuel is also much, much cleaner, with the removal of lead being a big difference.

Tougher standards also spurred engine and vehicle manufacturers to improve technologies, and over the years things like catalytic converters, better engine design and performance, fuel economy improvements, and vehicle shape and design resulted in trucks and cars that don’t have as much pollutants coming out of the tailpipe.

Vehicles and gasoline engines are probably running 95% cleaner today, than they were 50, 60 years ago, resulting in less smog hanging over the city. This was done while populations increased, number of vehicles per household and miles travelled increased, energy consumption went up, and - here’s the best bit - the economy and GDP grew. The end of the world and economic devastation it seemed, were not in the cards.

As I pointed out in the OP, the lockdown has revealed even cleaner skies and views beyond the skylines. I was chatting with my sister about this and she mentioned that she thinks she can now see more stars in the night sky. Humans are certainly making and impact on the environment and the quality of the air. Besides sight lines and views, there are tremendous health benefits for populations when the air is cleaner. And as we have seen, we can improve things with some changes - change in how we do things, how we think, and in our attitudes.

I think there is still more room for improvement. And with today’s technologies, energy alternatives, and the creative minds challenging the norms, I think we’ll see it.
There will be resistance, sure, as there was when the Clean Air Act was passed by Congress, and you’ll always have luddite mentalities (see que’s post above) to contend with, but it can be done.

 

[chillywilly2]

Don't get all uptight about this clean air.
Give trump another 4 years and he will have epa regulations so gutted you won't be able to see across the street, and we will all be able to walk on the water...gotta fix the faltering economy ya know

 

[Emerson40]

Don't get all uptight about this clean air.
Give trump another 4 years and he will have epa regulations so gutted you won't be able to see across the street, and we will all be able to walk on the water...gotta fix the faltering economy ya know

I hear you. But I still hold out hope that most Americans believe they live in a society, and not in an economy, and human lives are not just the cost of doing bidness.

 

[InsightRiot]

I hear you. But I still hold out hope that most Americans believe they live in a society, and not in an economy, and human lives are not just the cost of doing bidness.

The government monetized human life with the social security act. You can thank the democrats.

 

[Scareltt]

No more denying it..

There have been quite a few news stories about how the lockdowns in different parts of the world have made significant impacts on air quality.

Major cities in North America, Europe, and Asia experienced unprecedented decreases in nitrogen dioxide levels and particulate matter pollution.

Scientists can now collect data and experiment, and not just use models and projections.

Facebook, Instagram and other social media feeds are full of photos of where folks discovered they could see snow-capped mountain ranges for the first time, in a long time, previously obscured by smog.

Although temporary, it does highlight the human impact on air quality, and provides a glimpse of how we can change things for the better as emission standards improve, we change our habits, and alternatives to the combustion engine become more prevalent.

It will be interesting to see if there will be a push towards keeping the air cleaner as things open back up again.
Beijing is a fine example. The air was thick as soup and toxic before the 2008 Olympics. They tightened up pollution controls and cleaned things up for the games, and it is much better today.


Some positive news during a difficult situation.

You’re so right. This is an awful way to learn the climate lesson, but mankind is learning it. It’s terrible that it took a global pandemic.

 

[InsightRiot]

Welp, the riot fires just negated Any air quality gains the corona shutdown made.

Good job leftists!

 

[Em_1]

Welp, the riot fires just negated Any air quality gains the corona shutdown made.

Good job leftists!

Fuck off.
Any decent "Leader" would have defused the situation not incite more violence by uttering threats.
'When the looting starts, the shooting starts’
I hear uttering threats is a chargeable offense in the US but only if you're black.

 

[InsightRiot]

Oh yeah, I forgot, leftist aren’t responsible for their own actions, because they are low iq dumbasses. It’s always someone else’s fault. They’re no better than vermin.

 

[SugarDaddy1]

Fuck off.
Any decent "Leader" would have defused the situation not incite more violence by uttering threats.
'When the looting starts, the shooting starts’
I hear uttering threats is a chargeable offense in the US but only if you're black.

If I'm not mistaken, President Obama was never charged.

Following is Mr. Obama's "enemies" quote from the Univision interview:

"If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, 'We're gonna punish our enemies, and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us' -- if they don't see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election -- then I think it's going to be harder. And that's why I think it's so important that people focus on voting on November 2nd."

Here is what Boehner said about Mr. Obama's use of the word "enemies" in prepared remarks for a speech Monday night.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a president in the White House who referred to Americans who disagree with him as 'our enemies.' Think about that. He actually used that word. When Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush used the word 'enemy,' they reserved it for global terrorists and foreign dictators -- enemies of the United States. Enemies of freedom. Enemies of our country. Today, sadly, we have president who uses the word 'enemy' for fellow Americans -- fellow citizens. He uses it for people who disagree with his agenda of bigger government -- people speaking out for a smaller, more accountable government that respects freedom and allows small businesses to create jobs. Mr. President, there's a word for people who have the audacity to speak up in defense of freedom, the Constitution, and the values of limited government that made our country great. We don't call them 'enemies.' We call them 'patriots.'"

Source

 

[Em_1]

If I'm not mistaken, President Obama was never charged.

Source

Oh excuuuuuse me, I forgot 'and poor'.

 

[bestone4ever]

Oh yeah, I forgot, leftist aren’t responsible for their own actions, because they are low iq dumbasses. It’s always someone else’s fault. They’re no better than vermin.

The government monetized human life with the social security act. You can thank the democrats.

You're a fucking idiot.

 

[Em_1]

Oh yeah, I forgot, leftist aren’t responsible for their own actions, because they are low iq dumbasses. It’s always someone else’s fault. They’re no better than vermin.

When you're talking about Americans I wouldn't limit it to their political affiliations.

 

[Conager]

I hear you. But I still hold out hope that most Americans believe they live in a society, and not in an economy, and human lives are not just the cost of doing bidness.

There is no "society," much less one with the tax base needed to support "societal" programs without a vibrant economy.

You already live in an "economy" regardless of how poorly that thought is articulated, the only question is the degree of suffering for the disadvantaged.

 

[Em_1]

You already live in an "economy" regardless of how poorly that thought is articulated, the only question is the degree of suffering for the disadvantaged.

This is true.
Unfortunately, it doesn't paint a rosy picture for the disadvantaged in the US today.

 

[KimGordon67]

I'm optimistic about this sort of thing as well. My workplace (along with many others, obviously) has become more used to us working from home. It's something we can do pretty easily and often do anyway, but there's always been this feeling of a requirement to be in the office at least four days of the week. I don't think we'll be returning to that. And the fact that I was forced into working online (something I'd resisted for years) meant I ended up seeing it actually does have advantages, so I'll be moving to a more mixed model of some face-to-face and some online even when we go back to 'normal'. This all means a lot less driving for me. My daily commute is 45km each way, and then I was also previously travelling another 200km round trip to another work location. I now see that those trips can be halved if I use online options more effectively, and I'll knock at least another 90km of driving a week out by working at home an additional day. And I think quite a few people are feeling the same.

However, this is all also based on a fair bit of privilege. Most of the jobs that are amenable to working from home are those that are better paid. Also, having the resources to work/study at home is a bit of a luxury - it's just me and my cat (and sometimes a teenager) in my small but very comfortable home. I'm not sharing space, computer equipment, or anything else with multiple family members. I can keep my house warm all day, and I live a place that's extremely pleasant to go for a walk when I feel cooped up.

 

[coati]

Looks like new lockdowns will be coming in the U.S. of A., because Deplorables think it is patriotic to crowd public places and not wear masks.

Maybe as long as the impeached President keeps promoting viral transmission, his gutting of Federal environmental regulations will be offset by new lockdowns. The fool has a way of shooting himself in the balls.

Bad for the small business community, but a silver lining for the environment.

 

[Emerson40]

I'm optimistic about this sort of thing as well. My workplace (along with many others, obviously) has become more used to us working from home. It's something we can do pretty easily and often do anyway, but there's always been this feeling of a requirement to be in the office at least four days of the week. I don't think we'll be returning to that. And the fact that I was forced into working online (something I'd resisted for years) meant I ended up seeing it actually does have advantages, so I'll be moving to a more mixed model of some face-to-face and some online even when we go back to 'normal'. This all means a lot less driving for me. My daily commute is 45km each way, and then I was also previously travelling another 200km round trip to another work location. I now see that those trips can be halved if I use online options more effectively, and I'll knock at least another 90km of driving a week out by working at home an additional day. And I think quite a few people are feeling the same.

However, this is all also based on a fair bit of privilege. Most of the jobs that are amenable to working from home are those that are better paid. Also, having the resources to work/study at home is a bit of a luxury - it's just me and my cat (and sometimes a teenager) in my small but very comfortable home. I'm not sharing space, computer equipment, or anything else with multiple family members. I can keep my house warm all day, and I live a place that's extremely pleasant to go for a walk when I feel cooped up.

I think there are a lot of companies re-thinking their traditional work models. I think they are finding that in some instances productivity has improved with staff and some departments working from home. Workers who have long or slow (due to traffic congestion) commutes can be more productive in a remote setting, working from home. They can manage their schedules with more flexibility, providing a work / home life balance that is a little more favourable. Technology - VPN, CRM tools, ZOOM / SKYPE, synching to phone / tablet / laptop - is making this easier as well.

It is not for every company or industry, and in some cases you'll find people are not as productive as they may require more support or supervision, or not possess the discipline to work from home, or are easily distracted. They need that workspace environment, with a start / stop time, and their work expectations set in front of them daily.

And it's not just having less cars on the road and less miles travelled, there are potential energy (and $$) savings with reducing overheads. Office space cost $$ to heat and keep cool in the summer months.


Besides the workplace, I think you'll see shifts in how post-secondary education is offered. Colleges and universities will look at adding, or increasing, their online teaching models.

I believe that post-COVID, the new normal is going to look different than the normal we were used to.

 

[KimGordon67]

I think there are a lot of companies re-thinking their traditional work models. I think they are finding that in some instances productivity has improved with staff and some departments working from home. Workers who have long or slow (due to traffic congestion) commutes can be more productive in a remote setting, working from home. They can manage their schedules with more flexibility, providing a work / home life balance that is a little more favourable. Technology - VPN, CRM tools, ZOOM / SKYPE, synching to phone / tablet / laptop - is making this easier as well.

It is not for every company or industry, and in some cases you'll find people are not as productive as they may require more support or supervision, or not possess the discipline to work from home, or are easily distracted. They need that workspace environment, with a start / stop time, and their work expectations set in front of them daily.

And it's not just having less cars on the road and less miles travelled, there are potential energy (and $$) savings with reducing overheads. Office space cost $$ to heat and keep cool in the summer months.


Besides the workplace, I think you'll see shifts in how post-secondary education is offered. Colleges and universities will look at adding, or increasing, their online teaching models.

I believe that post-COVID, the new normal is going to look different than the normal we were used to.

I hope so ... although I'm just always aware that these things are not necessarily benefits to everyone, and it's unfortunately the 'usual suspects' who end up bearing the brunt of the negative aspects.

 

[Emerson40]

You’re so right. This is an awful way to learn the climate lesson, but mankind is learning it. It’s terrible that it took a global pandemic.

All is not wasted if we learn from this, and do better as we come through the other side of this.

 

[Conager]

All is not wasted if we learn from this, and do better as we come through the other side of this.

You left off the "we're all in this together" and "stay safe!" de rigueur, meaningless platitudes.

When, in your view, should we "come through to the other side" of this mass hysteria event?

Should we schedule one annually for various diseases and risks?

Do you have any cheerful words of optimism for "coming through to the other side" of the fallout from this over-reaction?

 

[Saint Peter]

I'm optimistic about this sort of thing as well. My workplace (along with many others, obviously) has become more used to us working from home. It's something we can do pretty easily and often do anyway, but there's always been this feeling of a requirement to be in the office at least four days of the week. I don't think we'll be returning to that. And the fact that I was forced into working online (something I'd resisted for years) meant I ended up seeing it actually does have advantages, so I'll be moving to a more mixed model of some face-to-face and some online even when we go back to 'normal'. This all means a lot less driving for me. My daily commute is 45km each way, and then I was also previously travelling another 200km round trip to another work location. I now see that those trips can be halved if I use online options more effectively, and I'll knock at least another 90km of driving a week out by working at home an additional day. And I think quite a few people are feeling the same.

However, this is all also based on a fair bit of privilege. Most of the jobs that are amenable to working from home are those that are better paid. Also, having the resources to work/study at home is a bit of a luxury - it's just me and my cat (and sometimes a teenager) in my small but very comfortable home. I'm not sharing space, computer equipment, or anything else with multiple family members. I can keep my house warm all day, and I live a place that's extremely pleasant to go for a walk when I feel cooped up.

I start working when I would have loaded up for the commute. I stop working after I would have pulled into the garage. Efficiency is down but increasing as time goes on.

I will be right back. My coworker need a belly scratch.